That Old Feeling
by Asherstonn
Summary: Stable Queen AU - After Regina is stood up by Henry, she takes a drive in the rain and discovers something peculiar...
1. Chapter 1

Regina looked down to her wrist to check the time again; it had been over an hour since she had spoken to Henry on the phone when he had asked her to meet him at Granny's. _Just a bit_ _longer_, she said to herself, _He'll be here. _An hour turned into two, and Regina had lost hope. She left a few dollar bills on the table to compensate for the cup of coffee she had sipped on as she slipped her purse over her shoulder. "Thank you, Ruby. She said quickly as she made a beeline for the door.

Coming back to reality, she began to assemble the remaining boxes to collect the remainder of her office items in. A single tear rolled down her cheek before the door behind her was thrust open.

"Do you know where Henry is?" David was not in the best of spirits, his brow furrowed in frustration.

Before she turned to face him, she quickly swiped her sleeve across her cheek to hide the evidence that she had been crying. "He was supposed to meet me for lunch, but he didn't show," she said, keeping her emotions on the subject buried deep; Henry had really hurt her, but she had hurt him as well so she supposed it was only fitting.

David slouched his shoulders as he began pacing around the room, trying to think of where he could have possibly gone instead of going to school like he was supposed to. "Do you know where he could have gone?" he asked her, "I know he wanted to help me find a portal to find Emma and Snow since the hat was destroyed, but I wouldn't even know where to look..."

Regina began to think of where Henry could possibly look for something magical when he knew virtually nothing about magic. "Wait," she said as her eyes widened, "I think I know why he called me." Pulling her desk drawer open, she quickly sifted through the items, and what she expected was true. "He has the ring of skeleton keys. In his book there is a picture of my vault. He must have realized that was the only place to hide anything. It's in the cemetery where my father is buried." She felt so used. Henry had never wanted to meet with her, he just needed her out of the office.

Regina felt defeated as Charming made his leave. She was able to hold in her true feelings just long enough for him to get out the door before she crumbled onto her desk chair, salty tears streaming down her cheeks. Regina could barely remember the last time she felt this vulnerable; the last time anyone had been able to break her down. She had truly believed that Henry wanted to see her and felt like some progress was being made. She was finally getting a taste of what it felt like to be used as a pawn in someone else's plans.

After a few moments of weakness, she wiped the tears from her face and stood up, smoothing her hair as she walked to her desk. "Time to pack it up, I suppose," she said quietly to herself.

Once the boxes were loaded into the trunk of her Mercedes, she sank into the driver's seat and flicked on the headlights as she started up the engine. The sky had gone dark and a heavy mist of rain began to fall. The town appeared to be deserted; everyone had retreated inside because of the downpour which she was thankful for, as there would be no one to cast angry glares her way. Pausing at a red light, her mind began to wander. Thinking of Henry, she could feel a lump beginning to form in her throat, threatening the tears that would soon follow. Squeezing her eyes closed, she willed the tears away and took a deep breath in an attempt to compose herself.

As she opened her eyes and brought them back up to the road, she spied something peculiar. There was an unfamiliar man wandering in the middle of the road. _Why would someone be taking a walk in this kind of weather?_ Regina thought to herself. She couldn't see him very well because of the darkness and the sheet of rain that obscured her view. It seemed strange that someone would be wandering alone in the middle of the road in the pouring rain, so she felt like she should do something, help him – which was something she hadn't felt in a long time. Compassion. She shifted the car into park and turned on her hazard lights as she stepped out of the car. The rain had picked up, and she was almost immediately soaked to the bone. She called out to the mysterious person as she approached him, "Hello? Are you looking for someone?"

Regina could tell that she had startled the man when she saw him jump at the sound of her voice. The man didn't respond, so she reached out to touch his shoulder as she spoke again, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–" Suddenly she was unable to speak. Her breath caught in her throat as the man turned to face her. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be... "Daniel?" she was finally able to utter.


	2. Chapter 2

It felt as though time had stopped. Regina's mouth hung open as she realized who was standing before her. Certainly this was a dream; she had seen her mother rip Daniel's heart from his chest and crumble it into dust. She had spent so much of her time watching his lifeless body in hopes that he would simply open his eyes, as if it had all been a bad dream; shaking him, calling out his name until her eyes ran dry and her voice was all but gone. She felt as though her mind was spiraling out of control, but the one thing strong enough to drown out the noise was her hand resting on his shoulder; on Daniel's shoulder. He was here, alive, in Storybrooke.

The rain continued to pour down on them. Regina ran her hand down his chest, still unable to process the fact that he was there. Drawing her gaze back up, she looked into his eyes. "Daniel," she said, choking back tears, "Is it really you?"

Breaking his silence, he brought his hand up to touch her face, gently running his thumb along her jaw line. "Yes, Regina," he said, barely loud enough to hear over the downpour, "It's me." Pulling her close to him, he clung to her as if his life depended on it. They stayed like this for a moment, both still unable to process the fact that they were together.

Daniel pulled away from her and ran his fingers through her hair as he looked deeply into her eyes. Regina felt like the young girl she had been the last time they had been together, and she let out a light chuckle of happiness as she looked longingly into his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Instead, he placed his lips on hers, suddenly igniting a passion that neither of them had felt in many long years. Feeling a surge of pure joy, Daniel lifted her off the ground and spun around in circles, causing them both to laugh. He placed her gently on the ground again so he could look at her. Leaning forward, he spoke quietly into her ear, barely above a whisper, "I've missed you, my love."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly again, burying her face in his chest as the tears began to fall. She felt like he would disappear if she let him go, even if just for a moment. Out of curiosity, she pushed her ear against his chest - and a strong heartbeat pulsed against it. A laugh erupted from her chest as she snuggled in closer to him, suddenly realizing how cold she had gotten. A chill ran down her spine as her body shuddered, pulling her even closer in to Daniel. "Are you cold?" he asked with concern, "We should really get inside. You're shivering." He quickly rubbed his hands on her arms in an attempt to warm her up a bit, but he knew that was only a temporary fix for the problem. Pulling her close, he gently pressed his lips against hers before he laid his forehead against Regina's, looking into her now widened brown eyes. "I.. Um.. I'm not really sure where we can go..." he admitted sheepishly.

Regina had her mind so wrapped up in the fact that Daniel was here with her that she had momentarily forgotten all about Storybrooke, forgotten about the curse, about everything. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Of course!" She laughed at herself as she pulled Daniel toward her car. She felt some resistance as she tugged at his arm, so she turned to face him. "Daniel, what's wrong?" she asked, grasping his free hand with hers.

He looked to the ground, feeling embarrassed, before she lifted his face by gently nuzzling her nose against his.

"I..." he began as he looked hesitantly toward her Mercedes, "What is that thing?"

Regina burst into laughter as she buried her face into his chest and slapped her hand playfully on his arm. The laughter was so intense that she momentarily lost all control of her body, almost collapsing to the ground - luckily Daniel had been there to catch her before she had landed directly into the large puddle that had formed on the ground beneath them. Regaining her breath as she wiped the tears of laughter from her cheeks, she lightly grazed her thumb across his lips. "Don't worry about that old thing, it's like, a carriage - in this world." Seeing that this had not erased the look of confusion from his face, she came close and gently pushed his hair back from his face. Although she had been able to look at him countless times since he had died - and even since the curse had brought everyone to Storybrooke - there was something so different about seeing him alive. His bright eyes, piercing blue even in the darkness; the way he turned up one corner of his mouth when he smiled. These were all things that she had all but forgotten in the countless years that he had laid dormant in that glass coffin. Closing her eyes, she gently ran her fingertips across every dimension of his face. She felt as though she had forgotten so much about him, and she didn't want it to happen again.

"How can it be you?" she asked desperately as she saw her breath linger in the air.

Daniel grasped both of her shoulders tightly, "Regina," he commanded in a stern tone, "We can discuss this once we've gotten inside and gotten you out of these wet clothes! Do you want to get sick?" With that, he pulled her toward the mysterious contraption, stopping at the front since he was unsure of what the thing actually did (or how to use it, for that matter).

Regina chuckled as she guided him to the passenger door, then buckled him in. She smiled to herself as she ran to the driver's side; he was just as sweet and innocent as she had remembered. But that was a sobering thought; because she wasn't. She began to dread the moment she would have to tell him everything that had happened since he died as she shifted into gear, slowly beginning to drive toward her house. As the thoughts began to torment her, she took a labored sigh in an attempt to calm herself.

Daniel laid his hand tenderly over hers which was resting on her leg. A smile crossed her face at his touch, and she shifted her hand and laced her fingers into his. As she paused at a red light, she took the moment to turn her head to him as she watched the corner of his mouth turn up into the crooked smile that melted her heart.

Regina quickly slid the key into the deadbolt unlocking it in one fluid motion before she swung the door open, pulling Daniel inside. Before she even turned on the lights, she turned around and let him wrap his arms around her as she moved with the rising and falling of his chest.

"You need to go get changed," he stated as he reluctantly pulled away from their embrace. Contorting her face into a pout, she turned to the switch on the wall, flicking the lights on so they could see. Daniel's eyes widened as he looked around at her house; it seemed small, but somehow still regal.

"I'll be right back!" she yelled down as she darted up the stairs, kicking off her heels at the top of the stairwell. She shuffled speedily into her bedroom and twisted the knob that controlled the lights, turning them up enough to where she could see her way around. Shrugging the cold, damp blazer off her shoulders, her body shuddered from the cold. She proceeded to remove her blouse and skirt, then slipped out of her pantyhose.

A noise at the door startled her as she jerked her head toward the source, only to be relieved when it was Daniel standing there. "It's just you," she said with a relieved sigh. Even though it was Daniel, she was nervous for some reason that she was standing there in only her bra and underwear. He stood in the doorway, gazing intently into her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, taking a few slow steps toward him.

He sauntered slowly into the room, "It's nothing," he murmured, "I just forgot how beautiful you were." Their bodies came together as if there was some magnetic force pulling them to one another. They melted into one another in a passionate embrace, his hand finding the small of her back where goosebumps had formed.

She pulled away from his lips for a moment, and time seemed to slow. She began to unfasten the buttons on his shirt, placing gentle pecks on what seemed like every inch of him. She slipped the shirt off of his shoulders and pushed him over toward the bed. However, before she could push him onto it like she had planned, he swept her up in his arms and laid her down on it in one smooth motion, sprawling himself on top of her as he began to kiss her neck.

She gripped the back of his neck and closed her eyes, giving into him fully. "Daniel..." she whispered.

"What is it?" he breathed into her ear.

Her breath began to quicken as she felt his calloused hands gripping her waist, and her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest if it were able. "Daniel," she said again, "I love you." she said in a whisper, barely able to think as she watched Daniel's trousers hit the floor.


End file.
